Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)

Located on a peninsula on the banks of Derwent River in Tasmania, The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is the largest privately owned museum in Australia. MONA accommodates extraordinary and rare art collections ranging from antiquities to contemporary art.

In collaboration with Fender Katsalidis Architects, the master plan for this 16 hectare (40 ac) estate attempted to satisfy two main objectives. The first was the need to create a spatial logic out of the existing accreted development on the site, connecting spaces such as a winery, function centre, brewery, two heritage listed houses by Roy Grounds, and an antiquities museum. The second need was to site a major new museum, a number of luxury accommodation units, outdoor performance spaces and a new ferry stop. OCULUS played on the site’s existing design of enclosed, intimate spaces linking to massive panoramic openings. This sequence was further developed to allow seamless connections to the new spaces and the existing spaces.